Why You Should Visit Florence!

This thread of posts is on my bucket list, both the parts of it I have done and those I am yet to do. It has been written to provide consistent content for your perusal (particularly with lockdown at the moment). I hope West’s Bucket Lists will provide some inspiration, perhaps for your future travels, and even a little escapism in these uncertain times.

“To see the sun sink down, drowned on his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of colour that make all the sharp lines dim and faint and turn the solid city to a city of dreams, is a sight to stir the coldest nature, and make a sympathetic one drunk with ecstasy.”

Mark Twain

Florence is a place on my bucket list I have frequented, but never will there come a time where I have visited the city enough.

In architectural brilliance alone, Florence supersedes just about every other city I have visited, with the possible exception of Rome. Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome, and Giotto’s accompanying bell tower, are just two magnificent reminders of this city’s former position at the heart of the renaissance. The Duomo, of which both of the previous architectural marvels are mere parts, stands regal over the city. It is, in itself, amongst the most beautiful of buildings the world over, and enough reason to visit the city alone.

If art of the architectural form is not enough in itself though, the Galleria degli Uffizi houses plenty of paintings and sculptures to sink your teeth into. Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, for example, is an enduring vision of the renaissance and a universal symbol of beauty. Riding on her seashell, nude and pale, Venus leans towards the reader in contrapposto form.

Italy is also a country renowned for its food, and Florence prepares good quality nosh with the rest of the country, as if part of some national agenda. Great gelato can be found all over the city and I recommend looking up and trying a variety because, why not? You are travelling after all! Pistachio is my favourite and, if you haven’t tried it, although it is not a desperately uncommon taste, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

A couple of other things you might try, two of my personal favourites, are cannoli from Café Rivoire and Biastecca alla Fiorentina, the local form of steak. Both should definitely be on your agenda.

Finally, a quick word on Tuscany. I have been to many wonderful campsites and attached restaurants across the world, but Tuscany holds my favourite of them all. I may very well write an entire article on my experiences at Azienda Agricola Montaioncino on another day; however, I must recommend the place now. Just outside Empoli, not far from Florence, this little campsite is an uncut diamond. Good, cheap, and simple food, supplemented with fantastic wine, views of vineyards for miles, and positively wonderful hosts, makes for an award-winning combination. If you are inclined to travel from the countryside and into Florence, then stay here for sure!

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